USA TODAY International Edition
Biden shifts to moderates after ending talks with GOP group
Schumer is working on reconciliation as backup
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden cut off negotiations Tuesday with a group of six Senate Republicans for a bipartisan deal on infrastructure, shifting his focus to a coalition of moderate senators from both parties to keep hopes alive for a compromise.
It came as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer moved ahead on planning for a parliamentary maneuver called reconciliation as a backup plan if those talks also fail. It would allow a simple majority in the Senate to approve legislation.
After weeks of meetings but little progress, Biden halted negotiations in a phone call with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R- W. Va., the group’s lead negotiator, before he leaves Wednesday morning for a trip to Europe.
“I spoke with the president this afternoon, and he ended our infrastructure negotiations,” Capito said in a statement, adding that she and fellow Republicans were under the impression that their latest counterproposal met the president’s demands that they come up to $ 1 trillion.
“Despite the progress we made in
our negotiations, the president continued to respond with offers that included tax increases as his pay for, instead of several practical options that would have not been harmful to individuals, families, and small businesses.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the latest GOP counteroffer – which Republicans increased by $ 50 billion last Friday to $ 978 billion – fell short of meeting “essential needs of our country to restore our roads and bridges, prepare us for our clean energy future, and create jobs.” The Republican proposal contained only around $ 300 million in new funding over already approved baseline spending on infrastructure.
Biden extended gratitude for Capito’s “efforts and good faith conversations,” according to Psaki, but expressed disappointment that Republicans did not offer more. Biden lowered his price tag to $ 1 trillion in new spending after starting at $ 2.25 trillion when he proposed his American Jobs Plan in March.
But the White House didn’t give up on a bipartisan infrastructure deal. Psaki said Biden also spoke to a group including Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, D- Ariz.; Bill Cassidy, R- La.; Joe Manchin, DW. Va.; Mitt Romney, R- Utah, and Rob Portman, R- Ohio.